Stacked

J and I aren’t the only ones that get excited about new restaurants. Her mom gets that way too. Earlier this week, J’s mom was reading the paper and there was an article about a new breakfast/lunch restaurant opening not too far from their home in Oak Lawn, IL. J’s step-dad worked some overtime on Saturday which means we didn’t get to see him before heading to hang out with some of J’s high school friends. Since we didn’t get to do dinner with her parents, her mom asked if we’d be interested in getting up for breakfast and checking out the newest addition to downtown Oak Lawn.

Stacked is on 95th Street and 53rd Avenue on the very busy stretch of road Oak Lawn calls downtown. The restaurant moved in to space formerly occupied by Baja Fresh. According to the Orland Park Patch, this restaurant has a pretty unique story of their own. The owners operated a diner in Orland Park, IL for several years when the city came in and used eminent domain to tear down the shopping center they were located in. As the owners wife was driving their son to hockey practice in Oak Lawn, she drove by the recently empty Baja Fresh and that’s where the couple decided to relocate their business.

Stacked had only been open four days when J’s parents took us their for breakfast. The area of downtown that this development is located in is somewhat walkable and near the Metra Station. 95th is a five lane road with a 45 mph speed limit so parking for all the businesses is either on side streets or behind in parking lots.

You enter the small space from the side street and we were met by a host, who also happened to be the owner. He asked if we wanted a booth or a table. We chose a table and were shown to a four top overlooking the sidewalk and road out front.

My in-laws both opted for coffee and J went for the OJ. I stuck with my caffeine and sugar addiction by ordering a Coke.

Even though there were four of us at breakfast, I’m really only going to focus on what J and I had to eat. Since there’s no online menu, I’m having a hard time remembering what my in-laws actually ordered. I believe they got Belgian waffles and french toast, but I’d hate to try and describe them and be wrong.

My selection was pretty basic. I got the steak & eggs. To my surprise, the meal was served on three plates. The steak had it’s own. The eggs and hash browns had their own. The toast had their own. I did my best to save room and combine them all to one, but the steak was pretty large. It was a long piece of meat that had a nice caramelized salty crust. I asked for the steak medium rare, but it came more medium. It was still tender and juicy and there was a lot of it. I got the eggs over medium and they were cooked perfectly. They were still a little runny and with a little pepper, had that runny egg taste that I love from diners. J ended up eating the hash browns. Not because I didn’t like them. I didn’t even get a chance to try them. She just asked if she could have them and I had more than enough food on my plate. I’m not really sure why I ordered hash browns anyway. They had red potatoes and I usually like them better.

J went with one of the signature breakfast items at Stacked. No, not the pancakes which would have made sense. She got the Red Velvet French Toast. The cake/bread was a deep red color that darkens up with the cooking process. It’s stuffed with cream cheese and topped with chocolate sauce and powdered sugar. She loved the French toast. If there was any complaint, it’s that they were too sweet, but that’s why she wanted my hash browns. The salty balanced that out.

The bill for the four of us was right around $50, but that is mostly due to me ordering a large steak for breakfast. Breakfast in Oak Lawn or the surrounding area is always hit or miss on a weekend morning. At most of my in-laws regular haunts, you can easily wait an hour our more. Since we hit up Stacked on their opening weekend, crowds weren’t a problem, but they were still full with the only advertising coming from a newspaper article. In the article I read, the owner said he was “rolling the dice.” With solid food, good service, and an intimate atmosphere, Stacked should find it’s place in the Oak Lawn breakfast rotation for many families.